Angel
by HippogriffRider77
Summary: Katherine Pierce's biological daughter from Bulgaria comes to Mystic Falls in the time of Elena Gilbert in search of one thing: the truth
1. Chapter 1

_May 2nd__, 1490_

Katerina Petrova's mother helped her daughter give birth to a perfectly healthy baby girl.

"Let me hold her once." Katerina begged her father, who had taken her child and was holding as far away from his daughter as he could.

"No! You are a disgrace!" her father yelled, walking out with her daughter.

"Father! Please! Just let me hold her once!" Katerina screamed, tears forming on her face.

"No!"

"Mother, please!" Katerina begged her mother.

"Katerina, it is for the best. It is for the best."

And then Katerina's daughter was taken away.

_April 19__th__, 1509 _

Katerina Petrova's eighteen year old biological daughter stood in her family's home.

"Angelica, Mother says it's time to get ready to go!" Angelica Botev's four year younger sister Dana said sounding annoying, walking into Angelica's bedroom and stopping right behind her, "Are you ready?"

Angelica nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be." Angelica turned to face Dana, "Is that my old bodice?"

Dana sighed, "Don't' do this now, Angelica please. Mother told me to use it."

Angelica shook her head, "Merely speaking, sister."

"It's time to meet the count. You're so lucky, Angelica. He's here for you."

"He's here for business with our parents, not for me."

"What business does a twenty year old count have with Mother and Father?"

Angelica shrugged, "I wouldn't know now, would I? Now let's go if Mother says we should be going."

_February 8__th__, 1510_

Angelica Botev walked out of her family's home, needing to see her once, just once, before leaving Bulgaria for good; her daughter.

"Angelica!" someone yelled from nearby, making her jump.

Angelica looked behind her to see who was talking and saw Elijah, the count from almost a year ago following her, "Where are you headed at such a late hour?"

"Just getting out for some fresh air, my lord," she told him, looking towards the ground.

"No need for formalities, dear; we know far too much about one another for that."

"Is that why you fed me that disturbing drink a few nights ago?"

"That, and because-"

But Elijah never got to finish; Angelica had been shot by a crossbow. She was dead.

_August 17__th__, 1969_

Angel Browning walked into a diner in New Orleans late at night, trying to remain indiscreet.

Which, in her eyes, failed tragically.

Apparently Angel had underestimated New Orleans and their diners; no booth or barstool was empty; there was somewhere near every one that was, and the booths had at least one person in all of them.

Sighing, she realized there would be no chance of secrecy on her first night there. She walked towards a barstool, preparing herself for catcalls, forgetting that she had the power of compulsion.

"You want a booth?" someone behind her said, quieter than most humans would have been able to be.

"There are none." was her toneless reply.

"There can be."Angel turned, unable to ignore her wanting to know, "How?"

The guy behind her merely smirked before turning towards a booth where two college aged girls were sitting.

"You want to leave. Don't remember the name of this place." he said.

And, they listened.

Angel, impressed, went to the booth.

To see the compeller sitting on the other side.

"Vampire?" she asked, already assuming the answer was yes.

"Pretty much; and what are you?" he asked, staring at her the way she was used to seeing vampires do when they're compelling.

"It won't work. I'm not a werewolf, witch or hybrid."

"You seem pleased with that."

"Why wouldn't I be? Werewolves? Wannabe supernatural creatures, witches: control freaks, and hybrids: don't exist."

"You're awfully cocky for a young one."

"Who says I'm young?"

"Who says you're not?"

"Exactly."

"What's your name?"

"Angel."

"Damon Salvatore."

"It seems like we'll be getting along."

"It seems as if we'll be getting along just fine."

_July 8__th__, 1972_

She should have known better; her only 'friend' since being transformed disappeared off the face of the planet after two years. She shouldn't have been surprised; he was exactly like her, and it was her way of survival as much as it was Damon's.

But still, she couldn't shake the feeling of abandonment that her parents had given her in Bulgaria centuries ago.

She just couldn't.

_November 19__th__, 1998_

Angel walked into a bar near Times Square around midnight.

"Miss me?" a voice she knew as well as her own asked, arrogant as ever.

"Nope." Angel turned to face Damon, her face as clear as she'd be able to make it, "Not in the slightest."

"Don't lie to yourself, sweetie."

"I don't lie to myself; just to humans. And the Originals, of course. I haven't missed you at all, Salvatore. But I have met your brother. Stefan, is it? Yeah, from what I can remember, he's a better friend than you've ever been."

And within the same minute, Angel left the bar as quickly as she'd arrived.

_January 1__st__, 2002_

_Can't come now; Damon's interfered. Be there ASAP and we'll go to the concert. I'll bring Lexi with me._

_-Stefan_

It didn't matter is what Angel told herself. But it did. Stefan and Lexi were the substitute Damon's…not that they would ever, in eternity, know that.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Sorry it's short. I'll add soon._**

_June 13__th__, 2009_

_**Angel was with Damon. He was kissing her. She felt like everything she'd imagined in the past forty years was coming true for her.**_

_** "I love you," he told her within a few spare seconds.**_

Angel sat straight up and looked towards the window.

_It was just a dream, _she told herself, trying to make sense of it.

But it was more than that.

It was a memory.

Sunlight was starting to show through the blinds on her window, and she saw the time.

"Crap," she said to no one, getting up and pulling her suitcases out from under her bed.

Then, her phone started ringing.

"Hang on a second, Stefan." She said to the phone, before pulling it open, "Yes?"

"Where are you? I thought you said you'd be here by one thirty." Stefan Salvatore said from the other end.

"Over-slept; Bad dream." She told him, latching her suitcase. She knew the last part was a lie…but she also knew she couldn't tell Damon's brother that.

"Are you okay, Angel?"

"Yeah, fine. I'll be there soon."

Angel hung up and pulled her stuff out the door towards her car.

_And here. We. Go. _She thought as she drove.

_June 13__th__, 2009_

Angel opened the door to the Mystic Grill in Mystic Falls, looking for Stefan.

Nothing looked slightly regular to her, besides humans. And _that, _she told herself, was only because they were her food.

All of a sudden, Angel was pinned to the back wall on the outside of the Grill.

"Katherine," Stefan growled, in Angel's face.

Angel smirked and looked at Stefan, "Miss me?"

Stefan looked confused, and realized that Angel wasn't Katherine.

"You're here." He laughed smiling.

"Let me off this wall so I can hug you, dumb one."

Stefan laughed and pulled his arm off of Angel's throat and hugged Angel.

"Stefan?" someone asked from behind Stefan, and Angel let go of Stefan, seeing someone who looked similar to her watching Stefan and her, confused.

"Elena," Stefan said, seeming to recognize the human.

"Who's this?" Elena asked, walking over to Stefan.

"Oh, this is Angel. She's an old friend of mine. Like Lexi."

"You have another friend?" Elena asked.

"Don't seem so surprised."

Angel laughed, "Hi."

"Hi, I'm Elena."

"So I'm told. Now if you don't mind me, Stefan, I need a drink."

"Bad night?" Stefan asked, knowing the look on Angel's face.

"You have no idea." Angel said, brushing past Elena's shoulder and walking towards the Grill again.

"Who is she?" Elena whispered to Stefan.

"Related to you." Is all Stefan told her, forgetting that Angel heard every word.


	3. Chapter 3

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Angel was sitting with Stefan and Elena at the Grill.

"Have you figured out where you're staying yet?" Stefan asked her.

Angel finished her whiskey and shook her head, "I'll probably just stay at a hotel or something."

"Are you just visiting?" Elena asked, trying to be polite.

Angel felt her eyes flashing, a danger sign that her face would soon change.

"She's moving here," Stefan said, knowing what Angel would do.

"I'll figure it out." Angel told her, "I might just stay with Lexi."

Elena looked at Stefan worriedly, who had stiffened at Lexi's name.

"You could always stay at the boardinghouse," Elena said, "Right, Stefan?"

Stefan nodded, "Yeah, the entire second floor is empty."

"Thanks." Angel said, looking around the bar.

"When you told me you were coming, you didn't say why." Stefan said.

"It isn't something I'd like to talk about here," Angel said, not bothering to be vague about looking towards Elena.

"At the boardinghouse—wait, no, not a good idea. We could go hunting."

"Oooh, little bunny rabbits. I think I'll take a pass. Why isn't the boardinghouse a good idea?" Angel asked, "I mean, it isn't like Damon's here."

As the last word left her mouth, Damon Salvatore walked into the Grill.

Angel sighed, "You know, I'm going to go find the boardinghouse. See you later."

Angel picked up her stuff and left, grateful for her protection from daylight.

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Damon Salvatore saw Angel leave and he walked behind his brother.

"A word, Stefan." Damon said, grabbing the back of Stefan's shirt.

Elena sighed and told Stefan, "I'll go talk to Matt."

* * *

><p>Stefan and Damon were on the other side wall of the back of the Grill.<p>

"Yes, Damon?" Stefan asked his brother.

"When were you going to tell me that Angel's here, Stefan?"

"When I was told that she wanted me to tell you. And besides, how do you know that's Angel? It might have been Katherine."

"Oh, you, Elena and Katherine in the same space without you killing Katherine? That would never happen and you know it, brother."

"Leave her alone, Damon. She isn't here for you."

"Brother, haven't you learned by now not to tell me what to do? Angel's here and I'm going to have fun with her and _do __what __I __want._"

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Angel had learned her way around the boardinghouse within five minutes.

And she was bored.

She didn't want to leave, that risked Damon seeing her.

But still, walking in circles was boring her to hell.

Angel walked into the main hall and saw something that she _knew_she'd missed before: a tall and completely full bottle of tequila.

Angel smiled and grabbed the bottle.

* * *

><p>Twenty five minutes and three quarters of tequila later, Angel felt amazing; and was completely aware that she was drunk.<p>

The front door of the boardinghouse opened and Damon walked in.

Angel looked towards the door, "Hey, Stefan!" she called out.

Damon looked towards Angel and saw his alcohol half-drained.

"What are you doing?" he asked, suddenly in front of Angel.

"You said to make myself comfortable. Hope Damon doesn't care that I took his… actually, I don't care. It serves him right, the ass."

"Give me the tequila," Damon said, reaching for the bottle and completely ignoring the comment Angel'd made.

"Stefan, I hope you know that it's rude to take advantage of that human girl the way you are."

Damon sighed, "I am so gonna regret this." He put his wrist to his mouth and bit into it, and then put it towards Angel.

Angel breathed in Damon's blood and automatically sobered.

"Get. The. Hell. Away from me. Salvatore." She growled, her teeth clenched.

Damon tilted his head, "Oh, but you were just being so friendly."

Angel rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right."

"Which human am I taking advantage of exactly?"

"Stop lying, Salvatore. It makes me sick."

"It's your favorite game."

The door opened again behind Damon.

"Hey, Damon, do you know where Elena is?" Jeremy Gilbert said looking towards Damon and seeing Angel, mistaking her for Katherine the way Stefan had, "What the hell is she doing here? I thought she was in the tomb."

Damon sighed and turned to Jeremy, "She is. This," he gestured to Angel, "Is Angel Browning."

Angel waved, her fingers moving more than her hand, "Hi."

"Hi. Jeremy." Jeremy told her.

"Gilbert, I don't know where your sister is, so just leave." Damon said, getting irritated with both Angel and Jeremy.

"Oh, don't be silly, Damon. You just said I was being friendly, didn't you? Doesn't that mean he can stay?" Angel asked, half fake-pouting, half smirking at how she'd used Damon's words against him.

"You're still drunk."

"Salvatore, I wasn't drunk. Trust me; I'd remember if I had been. Centuries of practice; you're welcome to stay here if you want to, Jeremy."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't get along with him." Jeremy said, nodding towards Damon.

"Kid, nobody does. Some just learn to adapt to his assism."

Jeremy laughed, "Good one. But seriously, I have to meet Ric for something."

"Ric?" Angel asked, before turning to Damon, "Is that your boyfriend?"

Jeremy laughed again, and Angel turned around, "No, he's my history teacher…and my aunt's boyfriend. He's helping me with something for a friend of mine and Elena's."

"Oh." Angel nodded.

"So I gotta get going, but maybe I'll see you later?" Jeremy asked.

Angel grinned the way she had when she'd found the tequila, "What did you have in mind?"  
>"I don't know… The Grill? Around seven?"<p>

Angel smiled again, "Sounds great. See you later."

"See you." Jeremy said before leaving again, ignoring Damon completely.

Angel smirked and turned to go up to where her floor of rooms was, but Damon blocked her.

Angel sighed, "Yes?"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"It's all about letting loose, right? I think you said that once…actually, I'm positive that you did. So think of it this way: I'm just letting loose and following my instincts. You're the master of that, after all. Did a great job teaching me." Angel said, pushing past him.

"It's Elena's brother." He said, stopping her halfway to the stairs.

"And you think I care about his relation to the doppelganger? I don't care about anything anymore. Again, you taught me how to turn that on and off like a switch."

Angel turned and kept walking.

She could hear Damon trying to say something.

"It's all about having fun, Salvatore. One of the many lessons you were eager to teach me before disappearing with Hades."

And Angel was counting of getting under his skin with the Gilbert kid.

And _that _would definitely be fun for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Aorry, I know it's short. I'll update soon. Promise.**

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Angel looked at herself in the mirror in one of the rooms on the second floor.

"Where you going?" Stefan said from the doorway, and Angel turned to see him leaning in the doorway.

"How do you know I'm going somewhere?" she asked, walking towards him.

Stefan laughed, "I've known you for awhile, Angel, and you don't stare at yourself in the mirror unless you're going somewhere."

Angel sighed and crossed her arms, looking at Stefan.

"I'm just asking, Ang," Stefan said, "Where you going?"

Angel shrugged, "The Grill." She said, trying to get past Stefan.

Stefan stopped her, "Why?"

"I want to get used to this town, Stefan. I want to be able to live here without getting staked."

"With Damon here there's a chance of that anyway."

"Whatever, Stefan." Damon yelled from somewhere in the boardinghouse.

Angel rolled her eyes, "Fine. If you have to know, I met someone and I'm going out with them."

"Who is it? Angel, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to be going out with someone if they don't know about the-"

"It's Jeremy Gilbert," Damon shouted down.

Angel groaned and came very close to finding Damon and killing him. Instead, she just flipped the ceiling off.

"You're going out with Jeremy Gilbert?" Stefan asked when Angel put her hand down.

"It matters why, exactly?"

"Jeremy's human, Angel."

"Yes, I caught that from his scent, thank you, Stefan."

"How do you know Jeremy anyways, Angel? I thought you were here all day after you left the Grill."

"I was. But then your brother got here, and tried to tell me I was being nice to him, and Jeremy came looking for Elena. He asked me to meet him there before he left." Angel shrugged, not seeing the big deal.

"He's Elena's brother. I hope you can see why I don't want you getting too…close to him."

"Stefan, I'm a big girl. I've been a big girl for…about five hundred years. I can take care of myself, and I certainly know by now how to keep my cravings to a minimum around humans."

"Angel-"

"Stefan, you can talk all you want. I need to become a normalcy here, so that's what I'm doing. Your precious doppelganger won't be attending Jeremy's funeral because of me, I can promise you that much."

Angel pushed past Stefan and left the boardinghouse.

_And __here. __We. __Go._ She thought to herself as she went.

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Jeremy Gilbert saw Angel walk into the Grill and over to where he was sitting.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a…complication," Angel said, sitting across from Jeremy.

"Damon?" he asked, figuring Damon was being an ass.

"Stefan, actually. He seems to think I'm planning on killing you."

"Stefan's usually the calm one."

"Yep…has been for over a century."

"Are you serious?" Angel asked Jeremy.

"Yeah, she tried to compel me to forget something really important."

"That's terrible. I cannot believe someone would do that to someone they care about, let alone their brother."

"Yeah, that's what made me really angry, I think, is that she lied about it. And she had Damon offer to erase my memory when the last one died too."

"Yeah, well, Damon's an ass. I wouldn't take him too seriously."

"I don't; I really don't think anyone does besides himself."

Angel laughed, "I can definitely see that."

"Yeah, so…"

Angel stopped listening to Jeremy because she saw something that made her feel her face changing.

Damon Salvatore.

"Jer?" she asked, cutting Jeremy off mid sentence.

"Yeah?" he asked, not bothering to be offended.

"I'm really sorry to cut this short, but I need to take care of something." Angel said, getting her things and standing up.

"Um, okay. Do you wanna hang out again sometime?"

"Sure."

"When?"

"If you have some can't-be-ignored desire to see me, you know I'm at the boardinghouse. Come by whenever."

_June __13__th__, __2009_

Angel smashed Damon against a wall in the boardinghouse.

"What now?" he asked, trying to seem annoyed with being attacked.

Angel tightened her grip on his throat, "Don't mess with me. I'm older, and that means stronger. Tell me why the hell you were spying on me."

"Stefan."  
>"I' m serious, Damon, I will rip your head off without thinking twice about it if you don't tell me the truth."<p>

"I'm telling you the truth, Browning! Stefan told me to keep an eye on you." Damon's voice was strained, he was suffocating.

Angel gripped his neck as tight as her vampire strength allowed, "Listen to me, Salvatore. You don't want to cross me. I will make your life an eternity of hell if you make me too angry. Stay. Out. Of my way if you know what's good for you, got it?"

"Yes." Damon choked, trying to pull Angel's hand off his throat.

Angel let go of Damon, "I won't be so nice next time."

"_That _was nice?"

"Would you like a repeat, Salvatore?"

"No."

"Then stay. The hell. Away from me."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So there is some legit Bulgarian in this chapter, for the yelling and flashback from a really dramatic part for Angel's past…most flashbacks/memories like that will most likely have the Bulgarian…hopefully it's easy to tell what's happening, but I'll put what she's saying next to it in parenthesis for everybody. As always, enjoy and r/r!**

_June 17, 2009_

Angel was lying on the couch in the boardinghouse, flipping through the Salvatores' old books. There were other things she could do, but running into Damon was in the mix of possibilities, and that was _definitely _not something she wanted.

"You know you actually _are _allowed to leave the house, right?" Stefan asked, walking past Angel towards the front door.

"Have fun at school." Angel replied, not bothering to look up.

"Why don't you leave anymore anyway, Angel? It isn't like Damon's going to mess with you."

"No, of course not, because he didn't _follow _me and Jeremy to the Grill when you supposedly told him to."

Angel closed the book and stood from the couch, and stared at Stefan.

"I didn't tell him to spy on you."

Angel scoffed, "That bastard."

Stefan looked at the door, and back at Angel, "Look, I can't talk about this right now."

"Why, what's wrong with you?"

Stefan didn't reply, and Angel pouted sarcastically, "Doppelganger drama?"

"Angel."

"What? She _is _a doppelganger, right? The second ever to have existed."

"I have to go to school," Stefan started walking out the door.

"Wait." Angel said, causing Stefan to turn around, "You said that Elena and I are related…how?"

"Does Female Damon actually…care?"

"Ugh. Don't _ever_call me that again, or relate me to him again. The only reason I bring it up is because if she's family…I want to know. Family isn't something I've had in a long time."

Stefan nodded, like he understood, "She might be…do you know who your mother was?"

"Biological or Mom?"

"Biological."

"Never figured it out…I just know she's from Bulgaria…why?"

"I have to get to school."

Stefan walked out the door and Angel rolled her eyes before going up to the second floor.

_June 17th, 2009_

Angel was in a haze…had no idea why, but she was.

Something was coming back to her…something…

_ "Angelica, we must go!" someone from near by shouted, "We must get away before anyone realizes your dishonor!"_

_"__Аз__не__слушам__ви__! __Аз__не__се__кланят__до__вас__! Може__да__се__брои, __но__не__са__ми__господар_!" ("I do not listen to you! I do not bow down to you! You may be a count, but you are not my master!")

_ "Angel, we must leave! You will be forced to leave eventually if you stay."_

_"__Elijah,__I __will _not _leave __with __you.__"_

"_Angelica? __Къде__отиваш?__" _("Angelica? Where are you going?") _Angelica __heard __her __sister __ask, __and __she __turned __to __see __Dana __looking __confused._

_"__Върни__се__обратно__у__дома__, __Дейна. __Аз__ще__бъда__там__скоро__,__обещавам.__" _("Go back home, Dana. I will be there soon, I promise.") _Angelica __told __her __sister._

_Dana eyed Elijah, and looked to her sister, "You're leaving?"_

_ "Разбира се, аз не съм ... това е не разбират с преброяването ... се прибера у дома, Дейна.Моля, моля ви.Аз ще бъда там скоро."(" Of course, I'm not ... this is a misunderstanding with the Count... go home. I will be there soon.")_

_ "Angelica, we must go, now!" Elijah shouted, ignoring the foreign language he could not understand._

_"__Вие__напускат__...__благодаря__ви__,__сестра,__ще__бъдат__хвърлени__върху__улиците__на__селото__ни__сега__.__" _("You're leaving...Thank you, sister, I will be thrown on the streets of our village now.")

_"__Дана,__аз__не__тръгвам__...__аз__ще__се__прибера__скоро__,__просто__се__върна__,__преди__мама__и__татко__осъзнавам__,__ние__сме__,__така__няма__и__да__започнете__да__се__притеснявате__.__Какво__искаш__да__кажеш,__ще__бъдат__хвърлени__на__улиците__,__ако__мога__да__си__тръгне__?__" _(" Dana, I am not leaving ... I'll be home soon, just get back before Mama and Papa realize we are not there and start to worry. What do you mean, will be thrown on the streets if I leave?")

_"__Не__сте__ли__реализирани__от__сега__,__Angelica__?Майка__и__баща__ви__обичам__най много__...__те__винаги__са__. Вие__сте__любим__дъщеря__Ботев__... __не__само__от__мама__и__татко__, __но__и__от__цялото__село__. Дори__броят__на__ви__харесва__най-много__.__" _("Have not you realized by now, Angelica? Mother and father love you most ... they always have loved the eldest Botev daughter more ... not just Mama and Papa, but the whole village. Even the Count likes you most.")_Dana __gestured __to __Elijah._

_ "We must leave, Angelica!"_

_Angelica waved him off, and looked at her sister with hurt eyes._

_"__Това__ли__е__наистина__това,__което__мислите,__че__?Аз__съм__приетият__,__аз__бях__и__съм__пожали__в__града__!Майка__ми__не__ме__искат__... __да__бъде__благодарен__,__че__мама__и__татко__не__направи__това__за__вас__.__" _("Is this really what you think? I'm adopted, I was lucky to be spared, to be in this town! My mother did not want me ... be grateful that Mama and Papa did not do that to you.")

_"__И__не__сте__чули__съседите__говорят__до__Mama__?"Това__вашата__дъщеря__Анджелика__,__тя__е__красавица__,__без__значение__граф__Илия__благоразположението__си__над__всяка__друга__млада__дама__в__града__."Мама__им__казва__,__тя__има__две__дъщери__,__така__че__тя__не__изглежда__зле__,__но__съседите__винаги__казвам__:__"__О,__Дана__дъщеря__ви__?__Колко__странно__,__аз__никога__не__съм__забелязал__приликата__преди__."Ти__си__добър__дъщеря__Анджелика__.И__единствената__причина__да__не__са__изхвърлени__.__" _("And you have not heard neighbors speak to Mama?"Your daughter Angelica, she is beautiful, no wonder the Count favors her over any other young lady in town." Mama tells them she has two daughters, so she does not look bad but the neighbors always say, "Oh, your daughter Dana? How strange, I never noticed the resemblance before." You're the favorite daughter, Angelica. Do not deny that you know this!")

_"__И__защо__ще__те__изхвърля__?Ти__не__си__този,__който__е__опозорен__името__на__семейството__Ботев__.__"_( "And why would they toss you out? You're not the one who has disgraced the Botev family name.")

_"__Какво__искаш__да__кажеш,__Angelica__?__.__"_("What do you mean, Angelica?")

_Angelica__gave__her__sister__a__pleading__look,__ "__Вие__няма__да__бъдете__най__-__малко__любим__завинаги__,__Дейна__...__макар__че__аз__като__че__ли__да__не__се__съглася__с__вас__,__че__все__пак__.Имам__concieved__дете__и__мама__и__татко__не__ще__ме__полза__за__дълго__...__ако__някой__се__хвърли__вън__,__това__ще__ми__бъде__.__"_("You will not be the least favorite forever, Dana ... although I seem to disagree with you on this, anyways.I have concieved a child and Mama and Papa will not favorite me for a long ... if someone is thrown out it will be me. ")

_Dana__'__s__eyes__widened__,__and__she__covered__her__mouth__with__her__hand__,__ "__Можете__-__сестра__ми__...__златното__дете__е__бременна__?__Аз__ще__ти__помогна,__Анджелика__,__защото__сестра__ми__и__аз__те__обичам__,__така__че__аз__не__ще__позволи__на__мама__и__татко__да__навреди__на__вашето__дете__–__" _("You - my sister ... golden child is pregnant? I will help you, Angelica, because my sister and I love you so I will not allow Mama and Papa to harm your child -")

_Angelica screamed out in horror, for her sister was lying on the ground, dead, from an arrow that had pierced her heart. Angelica looked frantically around to see who had taken her sister's life from her at such a young age, and did not see Elijah anywhere in sight…her first thought was that he had done this, but no, he wouldn't…finally, Angelica saw the killer…an olive skinned, brown haired woman with a crossbow in her hands._

_It was Elena._

Angel gasped and felt her face change.

"Stefan? Are you home yet?" she could hear Elena yell from the floor below. She was suddenly in front of Elena downstairs, due to her vampire ability.

"Oh, my God! Angel, you scared me." Elena laughed, trying to ease the tension.

Angel just stared at her.

"Angel?" she asked again, sensing something bad in the air.

Angel couldn't resist her anger, she flew at Elena, and was inches from feeding on her just to kill the goddamn murderer, but she was pried off by Stefan.

"What the hell were you doing?" he yelled after making sure that Elena was okay.

"She killed her…and thought she could get away with it." Angel growled, hiding her humanity for when she was alone.

"Who did Elena kill?" Damon asked, walking downstairs.

"You knew," Angel said, turning to face the eldest Salvatore, "Didn't you?"

"Knew what, Browning?"

"That the doppelganger killed my sister."

"Angel, Damon's a lot of things, but he wouldn't hide that from somebody…would you?" Stefan asked, reluctant to speak for his brother.

"Of course I wouldn't." Damon said, until seeing Angel's face, "Hey." He said quietly, walking to her, "You know I wouldn't hide that from you."

"I thought I knew who you were, too. Guess we all make mistakes. Yours was hiding that the bitch killed Deyna." Angel said, using her sister's Bulgarian name before running upstairs to let her humanity take over after 500 years of hiding.

She could hear Stefan downstairs, asking Damon if he knew.

"You know she's a second Katherine…I would never lie about that to her." Damon was saying.

"Tell that to Angel. Along with the Katherine feeling you had…she deserves to know. Oh, and Damon? If you know any other murders in her family, feel free to tell her to help get rid of the Elena delusion."

"Don't you get it, Stefan?"

"Get what?"

"Katherine and Elena's link to her."

"They're family."  
>"It's more than that: Katherine's her mother. She killed Dana."<p>

Angel looked up from the ground, angrier than she had ever been.

"Salvatore," she said through gritted teeth, knowing Damon would be upstairs after hearing her.

She was right.

"Where's Katherine? I'd like a word with my mother."

**A/N: So…how is it? (I know, the Bulgarian parts kinda got squished together, but I put the English version next to it for help. :) Let me know what'cha think please! **


	6. Chapter 6

_June 21, 2009_

Angel sat in the Grill, scrolling through old pictures on her phone from New York, the last time she saw both Stefan and Lexi. She had been waiting nearly twenty minutes for the younger of the Gilberts to show up, but she was getting bored. Fast.

Just when she was getting ready to just leave, she heard the door to the Grill open, and could smell his blood before he was even five feet away from her. She looked up from her phone's screen and waved towards Jeremy, hoping he'd see her.

"Hey, kid," she said, lowering her phone and smiling when he sat across from her.

"Aren't we the same age?" he responded faster than she'd thought he would, grabbing a fry from the basket she'd barely touched.

"Oh, I'm sorry; you had a child out of wedlock, and then were shot with a crossbow the night before you were to be deported in 1510? God, I…I'm sorry, Jeremy, I had no idea." Angel replied, feigning shock before leaning back and crossing her arms.

"You're _one of them?_" Jeremy asked, looking shocked and lowering his voice as he finished his sentence.

"If by '_one of them_' you mean a vampire like the Salvatores, Katherine Pierce and that preppy girl Caroline, then yes, I am." Angel said, imitating the way he'd spoken, "Sorry, Jeremy; I figured you would have pieced everything together after the way you'd yelled at Damon and thought I was Katherine the other day."

"Wait, pieced…pieced what together?"

Angel sighed and leaned forward, "Yeah, I'll spare you the details, but listen; I need to know where the tomb is. And before you go and pretend like you have absolutely no idea what tomb I'm talking about, let me remind you, you're the one who opened your mouth about it the other day, and from how small this town is, I'd say there aren't many tombs in Mystic Falls."

"Can't you just ask Stefan or Damon to take you to it, since you're staying with them?"

Angel rolled her eyes, "Trust me, I've tried. Damon refuses, and Stefan told me to keep trying to convince Damon because apparently he can't face what's down there."

"That makes sense, but then why do you need down there? You just got to town, you don't know Katherine—"

"You don't know, do you?" Angel asked, watching Jeremy's face go through multiple types of confusion, "And here I was, thinking you had put all of the pieces together and solved the puzzle. Well, the parts the rest of us have, at least."

"I…I don't know what, Angel?"

Angel shook her head and let out a sarcastic laugh, "The fact that Katerina Petrova is my birth mother from Bulgaria, May 2nd, 1490. She owes me answers. And I intend to get them."

_July 26, 1970_

"But that can't be right," Angel said, looking up at Damon from the shuffle of papers on the table between them, "every single name that's on this list, was still in Bulgaria in 1509."

"Are you _sure?_" Damon asked, watching her carefully and she looked through the papers once again.

"Positive. My sister was infatuated with her son; so much that I overheard my parents saying how they were going to try to arrange marriage for them one night after Deyna had gone to bed," Angel told him, pointing to the name _**Aleksandra **__**Angelova**_.

Damon laughed, and Angel looked up from the papers, half-glaring at Damon.

"What's funny now, Damon?" she asked, sighing, "I told you not to do that when we're working on this, it's really important."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just hard to take you seriously when you do the Bulgarian thing."

"What Bulgarian thing…" Angel rolled her eyes, "Again, really, Damon? I told you, I can't help it, that's how we said it."

"I get it, Ang, but it's still funny; you don't even realize you do it."

"And _you _won't even realize the stake going through your heart tonight after you fall asleep if you don't start taking this seriously."

Damon put his hands up, surrendering, and laughed again, "Okay, I get it."

"Good. Now help me, because honestly, none of these names are. We need to look again."

_June 21, 2009_

Angel followed Jeremy through the woods, shocked by how many things she recognized from past visits through small towns that were there.

"How much longer until we actually reach the _tomb_, anyway?" she asked, looking cautiously up at the sky, "It looks like it's going to rain, Jeremy."

"Yeah, no, I know, it might, actually, but not too much further, it should be up here," Jeremy told her, pointing forwards.

"'Should?' As in, what, you don't know?"

"Hey, I said I'd help you get to the tomb, not that I remember exactly where it is."

"Well," Angel said, stepping over a fallen tree, "I have to thank you for that; you're the only person who's offered to help."

"Here it is," Jeremy said, stopping in front of a stone staircase into the earth that Angel had barely seen because of the moss that was beginning to grow.

"This is the tomb?" Angel asked, pointing down the stairs, "Really? What, does she not have lapis lazuli, or is she afraid of stairs—"

"The tomb is in the cellar in the room at the bottom of the stairs, but there's a giant stone in front of it. You're not going to want to go into the tomb, there's a spell on it that keeps all vampires in."

"Jeremy, I'm not planning on going into the tomb. I just need to see her; just once. And then…"

"…and then what, Angel?"

Angel shrugged, "I'll decide what to do from there based on how this goes."

Jeremy nodded, "Do you want me to wait, or…what do you want to do?"

"I'll text you when I'm leaving, and we can meet at the boardinghouse and I'll tell you how it went. Okay?"

"Just be careful. She isn't exactly…friendly."

"Got it." Angel nodded, saluting Jeremy like he was a soldier before descending the staircase into the stone-walled room that was dark besides the sunlight that came down the stairs.

"Stone, stone, stone…" she said to herself, looking around for something that resembled what Jeremy had described until her eyes settled on the giant boulder that had an engraving of something that looked like a star on it, "…stone."

Angel walked up to it, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and lifted the stone out of the way until the doorway to the tomb was completely visible.

"Hello?" she called into the dark tomb, "Katherine? I know you're in there, you can't get out."

There was a shuffling from inside the tomb, and then Katherine was leaning against the wall in the doorway of the tomb, wearing the same black dress she'd been trapped in, her skin graying from lack of blood, "Who the hell are you?" she rasped, looking at the girl in front of her.

Angel took a deep breath, and after a long beat of silence, opened her mouth, "Hello, Katherine. You don't know me, but I'm Angel. You know; the daughter you left."


	7. Chapter 7

_July 17, 1527_

Angelica woke with a start, lying in a freezing room, or perhaps it was still the nightmare that was chilling her. Even after all this time, it was incredibly vivid; the mother she never had, leaving her for dead on the side of the street, until it changed, and suddenly it was her daughter and the father lying cold and dead, shot to the ground by the same horrid woman who had shot her mother.

"Oh, good, you're awake," a voice said, and Angelica looked up to see one of the brother's sitting in her chambers, watching her.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to watch a lady sleep, Niklaus?" she asked, sitting straight up.

"My sister isn't here; she asked me to tell you that our brother seems to have found your long-lost sister," Niklaus said, ignoring her question.

Angelica could feel her still heart begin to jump, both with fear and hope; to Niklaus and his siblings, her baby was her long-lost sister, not the baby that she was forced to give away years ago. It was all Angelica could do to hope that they didn't see a resemblance between her child and the count.

_June 21, 2009_

"I'm...I'm your daughter, Katherine," Angel repeated, after getting no response from her mother, "I've been looking for you for centuries, but...hi, Mom." Angel looked at her mother, not understanding how she wasn't looking at her at all.

"That isn't possible," Katherine whispered, refusing to look at Angel, "that baby was given away 519 years ago."

"You...you remember the year, too?" Angel asked quietly, silently cursing herself for asking such an inane question; of course her mother would remember.

"It was May 2, 1490 at 2:19 in the morning in the town of Sophia, Bulgaria. Luckily, the baby was healthy, but she was born out of wedlock and was given away; she was probably dead before she'd even reached her sixteenth birthday," Katherine said, turning so she could lean against the wall for support, "so seriously, who the hell are you?"

"I was named Angelica Botev by my adoptive parents; they told me that I was taken in by them when I was very young. I've been looking for you for 500 years, and I found you. You're actually alive."

"Well, you found me," Katherine said, sounding bored, "now what?"

Angel felt an emotion that she didn't want to remember begin to pulse through her, "Wh...what do you mean?"

"What do you want? You obviously want something, that's why you've been chasing dead ends for five centuries, right?"

"I...Katherine, I don't want anything. I just wanted to find you, to know where I come from. That's all I've ever wanted."

"Why, so you could give me the Mommy-of-the-Year award? I don't want it; haven't you caught onto that by now?"

"I...you seriously don't want to know your own daughter? The one who's been searching for so long to find you? Hell, if it was my daughter, I would want to know everything about her, I would want her to know why I'm not the person who raised her, because she'd deserve that!" Angel scoffed, "Damon was right, I shouldn't have wanted to come here." She turned to leave, shutting off her humanity.

"Damon? You mean that you...you know the Salvatores?"

"Katherine, you don't get to ask me questions," Angel said, barely turning to face her, "if you can't even answer a few of your own daughter's questions, don't expect to get to ask me questions in return. Especially about the Salvatores." Angel said, walking out of the tomb, not looking back.

_June 21, 2009_

Angel walked into the boardinghouse, slamming the door loudly behind her, not caring about how it felt when the house shook from the slam. The only emotion that she felt was anger; with herself, with Katherine, with Stefan and Damon.

"Hey," a voice said, and Angel stopped walking long enough to look at Stefan, "Where've you been all day, Ang?"

"Did you know?" she asked quietly, looking up at him.

"Did I know what, Angel?"

"I was just with my mother, Stefan; did you know?"

Stefan sighed, "I knew that she had given birth to a child in Bulgaria from when Elena had gone to talk to her the day before you got to town, but I wasn't certain until Damon said something the other night."

"Why didn't you tell me who it was? Or how to find her, at least; I had to go through Jeremy Gilbert, which isn't going to go well, because he's going to be asking me a lot of questions about how it went."

"Well, how...how _did _it go?"

Angel took a deep breath, refusing to be human for her..._mother_. "She, uh...she made it perfectly clear to me that any mother-daughter bond that we might have had, she broke herself without telling me in Bulgaria in 1490."

Stefan sighed, "What exactly did she say, Ang?"

"That, uh...that her baby died before 1509," Angel said, finally convincing herself of something she hadn't realized she had been hoping since she left the tomb, "So, I must not be her daughter, we were wrong. I'll keep looking and hopefully I'll find my real mother."

"Screw that, we aren't wrong," Damon yelled, walking into the hallway, holding his glass of scotch, "do you have any idea how _long_ I spent just to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things? Come on, Browning, you two even look alike! Three, if you count Elena," Damon took a drink, "Right, Stefan?"

"What connection is there between me and Elena, anyways, Stefan? How are we related?" Angel asked, looking between both of the brothers.

Both Stefan and Damon looked at each other.

"Tell her, Stefan."

Stefan sighed, "Elena is the second Petrova doppelganger-"

"The key to breaking the Sun and the Moon Curse?" Angel whispered.

"Yes. I put some of it together the day you got here; I saw you in the Grill and had thought that somehow Katherine had gotten out of the tomb. I can't believe that I had never seen it before, Angel, I'm so sorry for not realizing it years ago. Anyway, but now, Elena might be in danger; there's this Original named Elijah, and he's looking for Elena to break the curse-"

"Stefan's just worried that Elena's going to get killed in the ceremony, which isn't going to happen with the three of us here, especially now that you're here; we all know how important your family is to you-"

"Elijah," Angel whispered, trying not to remember, "Elijah's coming _here_?"

"Oh, no," Stefan said, noticing the look on Angel's face, and remembering, "Angel, I'm so sorry, I forgot."

"Yeah, well at least one of us can." Angel said, looking straight ahead.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I know that it's been awhile since I've been very active on my writing and updating my stories, but I've had lots of inspiration lately, so please be expecting updates, and please let me know what you think! I love reading your reviews. I'd just like to warn you now that there is more Bulgarian language in this chapter, just in case it all gets mashed together again the way it did the last time I tried to post it. Please, R/R! ~HR77**

_June 23, 2009_

"Browning!" Damon yelled through the boardinghouse, "Damn it, Angel, where are you?"

"God, what is your problem?" Angel groaned, walking downstairs, "What in _hell _is so important that you're talking to me without Stefan here? I thought that had become our thing."

"Tell me that one of the Gilberts have been here."

"Elena called earlier to tell me that she was coming over to talk to Stefan about something, but no, I haven't seen either of them; why, what's going on, Salvatore?"

"You're friends with Eager Beaver, aren't you?"

"Wh-Damon, what are you talking about?"

"Jeremy; you're friends with Jeremy Gilbert, aren't you?"

"I...I don't know, I guess so. Why, what in hell is going on that's so important?"

"It's a long story that I don't have the time to tell word for word, Browning, but to sugar-coat it for you, Jeremy almost got killed by Katherine by getting his nose into something that wasn't his business to begin with, my brother tried saving his ass, and ended up trapped in the tomb with her. Elena doesn't-"

"Why were Stefan and Jeremy in the tomb, anyway? Nobody should go down there."

"I told you, it's a long story; look, can you just go to the house to make sure Elena didn't go down to the tomb? I need to talk to my brother before I let her anywhere near that place."

Angel groaned and set down the bottle of vodka that she'd been holding and picked up her phone, putting it into her pocket, "I'll be back."

_June 23, 2009 _

Angel walked up the sidewalk to the Gilbert house and knocked on the door. She could hear movement from inside, and could tell that somebody was walking towards the front door. The door opened, and just inside the threshold stood an auburn haired woman, who Angel assumed was Jeremy and Elena's mother.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Hi," Angel said slowly, "you don't know me personally, but I'm a friend of Jeremy and Elena's; we go to school together, and I just moved to town not too long ago. I know that it's kind of late, but is it at all possible for me to talk to Jeremy for a minute? I promise it'll be quick."

The woman looked between the staircase and Angel a few times, and then called up the stairs, "Jeremy."

From where Angel was standing on the porch, she could see Jeremy walk downstairs, and she noticed he was wearing a hoodie, which she assumed was to hide whatever marks had been placed on his neck earlier that night. The thought alone made her sick.

"What's up, Jenna?" he asked, leaning against the staircase railing.

"There's somebody here to see you," Jenna said, nodding towards Jenna before walking back down the hallway, towards the kitchen.

Jeremy walked down the stairs and looked outside, "Hey, Angel."

Angel could tell that he was surprised to see her, "Hey, Jer." she smiled, "Can we talk? It's...important."

"Sure, yeah, follow me." Jeremy told her, taking a step towards the stairs, "Come on in."

Angel stepped into the house, taking a deep breath as she was able to pass the threshold, and she followed Jeremy upstairs and into what she assumed was his bedroom.

"Unlock your window," Angel told him, barely stepping into his room, but noticing what it looked like.

"W...what?" Jeremy asked, sounding confused as he stood in the middle of his bedroom.

"Unlock your window," Angel repeated quietly, "and take off your shirt. I need to talk to you without the risk of being interrupted, because it _is _important. When I leave, wait a few minutes and then go downstairs; tell Jenna that you're going to bed, come back, close your door, unlock your window and take off your shirt."

_June 23, 2009_

Jeremy opened his bedroom door, "Goodnight, Jenna!" he yelled, before turning around. He jumped, not expecting to see Angel laying on his bed, looking around.

"You did what I asked you to out of order," she said, sounding amused, "but it's okay; I don't ever follow the rules. Not exactly. Could you close the door?"

Jeremy did as she asked, and sat at the foot of his bed, "What's going on, Ang?"

"Aw, that's cute, you thought I was kidding before. Unfortunately, I wasn't; Jeremy, take off your shirt. I have to see what my mother did to you."

Jeremy sighed, "Angel, it's nothing."

"To hell, it's nothing! Take your damn shirt off or I'll do it for you, I know something must be there, you're wearing a sweatshirt that's hiding your neck, I'm not stupid."

Jeremy sighed and pulled his sweatshirt off.

Angel gasped, pretending to be shocked, "Good boy! Somebody's getting a treat for attending obedience class," she laughed before noticing the marks on his neck, "Oh, my God, Jeremy! That's horrible, why didn't you come ask me to look at those earlier, when it happened? Those aren't healing, Jeremy, and it's really deep. Here," Angel pulled her wrist up to her mouth and pressed her teeth into her skin, tasting blood.

"No. Angel, it's okay, really."

"Do not lie to me right now, okay? It isn't a good idea for anybody. I've seen plenty of vampire bites in my time, and that...I'm not even sure there is a word that I could use to describe how disgusted I am with my own mother for doing that. You're going to drink this, because I am _not _my mother, and I need to fix what she did to you. And after you're healed, you're explaining everything to me."

_June 18, 1507 _

Angelica Botev sat behind a large tree in the woods on the edge of her village, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shh, dear, it will be alright," the count told her quietly, holding her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"Майка ми и баща ще ме депортират, и бебето ще бъдат раздадени, Илия!Съм да се счита за мърла за остатъка от дните си, където и да реши да ме изпрати."

"English, please Angelica."

"My mother and father will have me deported, and the baby will be given away, Elijah! I'm to be considered a trollop for the rest of my days, wherever they decide to send me." Angelica translated, sounding bitter as she said the words.

"Only if the baby is born outside of wedlock, dear; and even if that is to happen, you will never be considered a trollop to me."

Angel shook with tears again, feeling both overwhelmed and humiliated.

"Angelica, I'm going to break my family's curse, and then I'll come back for you. Before the child is born, I will be free and we will be family. I promise you, Angelica."

_June 23, 2009 _

Angel stood from Jeremy's bed and walked to the window, turning to face him.

"So that's what the curse he was always talking about did," she whispered, "Jeremy, how are we going to get Stefan out?" she said, her voice getting slightly louder.

"I don't know exactly, but it's a good thing that Bonnie's a witch. Caroline told me she's trying to get her to help get him out."

"It's nearly impossible to break the seal, and keep Katherine in...your sister doesn't know about Stefan being trapped, does she?"

"She might now; I don't know what Damon was planning to do about that."

There was a knock on the door that stood between Jeremy and Elena's shared bathroom, and Jeremy's bedroom.

"Hey, Jer, are you still up?" Elena's voice rang out, and she opened the door, "Oh...hi, Angel. I didn't know you were here."

Angel shared a look with Jeremy, and looked towards the floor.

"You know that he's trapped, don't you?" Jeremy asked quietly, and Angel could tell it was something he didn't want to have to ask his sister.

Elena nodded, and Angel could see the tears Elena was trying not to let fall, "Damon won't let me see him. He's keeping me out of the tomb."

On an impulse that Angel didn't know she could ever have, she crossed the room within seconds, and was hugging Elena, who, to Angel's surprise, hugged her back.

"What am I going to do?" Elena said quietly, "He's stuck in there with...with her."

"I'm sorry, Elena, I wish I knew, but I don't." Angel told her, looking over Elena's shoulder, meeting Jeremy's eyes, "But we're going to get him out, I promise, or I'll let Damon stake me himself. We'll get him, Elena; I promise you."


	9. Chapter 9

_June 24, 2009 _

Damon walked into the boardinghouse, and Angel immediately rose from where she was sitting on the couch, reading through Stefan's journal.

"How is he? Has Bonnie found a way to get him out and keep…_her _in yet?" she asked, following Damon into the parlor, where he poured scotch into a glass.

"You ask a lot of questions for somebody who doesn't want me talking to them."

Angel rolled her eyes, "I'm serious, Damon; how is he?"

"He was fine when I went down there earlier," Damon told her, "he still won't take the blood because he's convinced he'll have to share it with Katherine, but don't worry, we'll get him out."

"I'm not worried for me, Damon," she sighed, "I'm worried for Elena."

"Why is that? I didn't see you two bonding very much before he got trapped last night."

Angel glared at Damon, and then poured her own liquor, "We aren't 'besties' if that's what you're asking, but she's family. Probably the only family I really have right now. I'm not sure you would understand, Damon, you aren't big on the trivial things like family."

Damon sighed and took a drink, "Are you going over there again tonight?"

"Yeah," Angel nodded, "I am; why, do you want me to tell Elena something for you?"

"Who are you _really _going over there for, Elena or Jeremy?"

"I'm not answering that question." Angel told him, stepping around him.

"Yeah, and why not? It isn't like we're strangers, Angel, I know how to get underneath your skin."

Angel sighed and finished all of the scotch that she had left, putting her glass down on the bookshelf next to the fireplace, turning around, "They're both my family, Damon, what do you want me to do? You're right, you _do _know me, so you know how important this has always been to me. If I go over there, it isn't for one or the other, it's because it's family. So please, Damon don't make me feel guilty for being grateful for that."

Angel walked to the door, "Don't wait up." She yelled, walking out.

_June 24, 2009_

Angel knocked on the Gilbert's front door, expecting Jenna to answer the door, or Jeremy and Elena, if she was lucky.

What she wasn't expecting was for Elijah to be standing on the other side of the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked politely, not acknowledging that he knew her at all.

"Elijah…" she whispered, regretting coming at all, "What are you doing here?"

Angel looked reluctantly into Elijah's face and could see him trying to warn her not to talk; she didn't understand any of what was happening.

"Thanks for getting the door for me, that box did not want to get out of the closet," Jenna laughed, coming to the door, and Angel looked between Elijah and Jenna, confused, "Angel, hi. I wish I had known you were coming over again, I would've told Jeremy to stay downstairs and help instead of staying holed up in his room all night."

Angel forced herself to smile and to find her voice, "It's okay, Jenna. If anything, I'm sorry, I know I keep showing up over here unannounced, I know that it's incredibly rude. I promise, once I get settled and used to the neighborhood, I won't be doing this every day."

"To be honest, I'm just glad that Jeremy has a friend who's willing to come over," Jenna laughed, "both him and Elena have had a hard time lately, but I'm sure you already know that. Oh, my God, I'm sorry, I must be half-asleep by now. Come on in, Jeremy's in his room. I would yell, but knowing him, he probably has his headphones on full-blast to drown me out."

Angel laughed and walked inside, and when Jenna closed the door, she was aware of how small the space between her and Elijah was.

"Have you two met yet?" Jenna asked, pointing between Elijah and Angel.

Angel watched him, waiting for him to answer; she didn't want to say anything to ruin whatever plan it was that he was in the middle of. Elijah, however, said nothing, and Angel realized that it was up to her.

"I don't think so, I'm sure I would have remembered meeting somebody like…" Angel said, giving Elijah or Jenna the chance to fill in the name.

"Elijah Smith, it's a pleasure to meet you…Angel, was it?" Elijah said, holding his hand out for Angel.

Angel stared at it for a second, dreading having to touch him; she hesitated, but then shut off that part of her humanity.

"Yes, you had it right. Angel Browning, it's nice to meet you, too." Angel said, shaking his hand quickly, not wanting to have it last any longer than it had to, "You, um...Jenna, you said Jeremy's in his room?" she asked, turning away from Elijah.

"Yeah, go on up. Elena should be home soon if you were planning on seeing her too."

"Oh, is she not home?" Angel asked, not feigning her confusion.

"No, she was with Caroline when she called me earlier, but she should be home soon."

"Thank you, Jenna." Angel said, smiling before running past Elijah and upstairs, hoping to get into Jeremy's room.

She went to knock on Jeremy's bedroom door, when she was blocked by a dark body.

"Hello, Mr. Smith," she said, looking up at him, pretending to go along with the story, "did Jenna ask you to come recruit Jeremy and I to help? I was just on my way into his room, I sure he won't mind, would you like me to ask?"

"Angelica," Elijah said.

"It's just Angel, actually, although I can see how you could get confused, but don't worry, sir, you aren't the only one. A lot of the people that I've had for foster parents over the last few years have also thought that Angel was short for something else, although I have to say, you _are _the only one to come to Angelica, usually, it's Angelina."

Angel hoped that if she kept rambling on like an awkward human teenage girl, Elijah would let her go.

"Angelica, please stop talking for a moment," he said.

Angel sighed, "Look, can you just move? I can't do whatever conversation it is that you want to have right now, I don't know if I'll ever be able to."

"You changed your name, I'm shocked."

"Well, I wasn't going to change my name to Angelica Mikaelson, if that's what you were expecting. You broke that promise, remember?"

"Please just let me explain."

"Why?" Angel asked, letting her voice sound excited at first, getting more serious the longer she went on, "So you can make another ridiculous promise that doesn't get kept up until the end? I'd rather not hear it, actually. A lot has changed since the last time we saw each other, in case you didn't catch that; I am _not _the same person, and clearly you aren't either, _Mr. Smith._"

Elijah sighed, "I understand what you're saying, but please let me explain what happened, you don't know everything—"

"You're right about that! I don't know everything, and I don't want to. I have a different life now, I know more about myself than I did in Bulgaria. You don't get to explain, you broke your promise, Elijah."

"You're right. Of course you're right, I don't deserve the chance to explain, but a lot more has happened then I think you're truly aware of, Angelica—"

"I dropped the 'ica' if you didn't notice. It's just Angel now. And if you don't mind, _sir_, you're supposed to be downstairs, helping Jeremy and Elena's aunt with whatever the hell it is that you're here for, and I'm going in there to talk to my friend." Angel said shortly.

Elijah stepped out of her way, and she walked up to the door.

"Oh, and one more thing," she said, turning her torso to face him, "if you do anything to hurt my granddaughter, I will end you and feel nothing." She said, knocking on the door.

By the time Jeremy answered the door a moment later, Elijah was downstairs.


	10. Chapter 10

_June 24, 2009_

"So that's what happened." Angel sighed, sitting up on Jeremy's bed, "Feel free to judge if you want; everybody else who knows has."

"No, I'm not judging. I actually understand it." Jeremy said, handing her a T-shirt.

"Only one other person has ever understood it, but I haven't talked to her in…in a long time."

Angel pulled her hoodie over her head and pulled Jeremy's shirt on, "Thanks for this, by the way."

"Sure, no problem," Jeremy sat next to her. "Did you ever get to see the baby, after…if you can't talk about it, I understand—"

"No, I never found her," Angel whispered, staring at the floor. "That's where I was going the night that…the night I got shot."

"Your parents never told you?"

"It's like I told you, Jeremy, my parents took her away and told me that I was to leave immediately after I was healed. By the time I got back to Bulgaria in 1536, they were gone. Disease must have gone through my hometown and wiped them out or something. To be honest, I'm not sure that I want to know."

"Elena told me that vampires can't procreate."

"We can't. Elena told you the truth."

"Then how did you have a baby with Elijah?"

"I was human, Jeremy. Or did you miss that part of the story?" Angel said quietly, "And the fact that Elijah was the father…that's complicated. And I'd rather not relive the horrors of that story just yet. Sorry, Jer."

"I don't mind, Angel. It's your past."

Angel smiled, "Thanks, Jeremy."

She heard giggling and looked over at Jeremy, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

She heard a familiar voice and she leaned towards Jeremy, lowering her voice, "Stefan got out of the tomb."

"I guess he was serious when he said he could lift the tomb spell," Elena said.

"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked, and Angel waved her hand to shut him up.

"You shouldn't have trusted him, or talk to him without Damon or Angel with you, but at least Katherine's still in the tomb," she heard Stefan say.

"He was in the house, Stefan, Jenna invited him in, he was here when I got home and he told me we had to talk, what else was I supposed to do?"

Angel stiffened, "They're talking about Elijah."

"What are they—"

Angel cut Jeremy off my putting a finger over his mouth, and she pointed towards the wall separating his room from Elijah, "Don't speak. Just wait."

"Jeremy told me that Angel was here earlier, you could've had her with you."

"Stefan, let's not fight. You just got out of the tomb, is this really how you want to spend our first night back together?"

"I don't want to fight Elena, I just want to know why you thought that you needed to talk to Elijah alone, and we know he's not safe."

"Well, maybe he is! He promised to keep all of you safe, I have to trust him."

"Angel hasn't trusted him in five hundred years, Elena, and she's known him for most of her life, even when she was human. Maybe we should trust her, and not trust him."

"Damn it, Stefan." Angel said quietly, "Don't bring me into this."

"What happened with him and Angel?"

"This isn't about what happened between him and Angel, this is about you trusting somebody you shouldn't trust—"

"He got you out of the tomb and trapped her inside. That has to count for something, Stefan."

"Yeah, he's using you to make sure that he has everything he wants for when Klaus gets here."

"He wants Klaus here so he can kill him, not so he can hand us over."

The memory overtook Angel before she even saw it coming.

**_August 9, 1950 _**

_Angel opened the front door to her house and walked in, turning on a light with her. She looked up from the inane human bills that she had to live, and was caught off guard._

_"Klaus. What the hell are you doing here?" she said, dropping the bills and tensing, "What do you want?" _

_"Come now, don't be like that, love. We used to get along so long."_

_"Yes, well, that was before you staked my best friend and hid her coffin, so I haven't seen her in thirty years." _

_"It was necessary at the time, Miss Browning. You know as well as I that when Mikael chases us we need to run."_

_"That doesn't give you any excuse to stake Rebekah. And as for our friendship, well…that hasn't exactly been real in four-hundred years, has it, Klaus? So please tell me why you're in my house and what you want from me." _

_"You once told me that if I needed your assistance, you would help, remember?"_

_"Again, that was before you staked my best friend." _

_"Somebody spotted the human Petrova doppelganger, and we both know how desperately I need to find her."_

_Angel leaned against the door and crossed her arms, "I'm not helping you, Klaus."_

_"Not even if I told you that I can bring Rebekah and Kol back for you? Or that I know where our dear Elijah has been for so long? If I remember correctly, you and my brother had a certain…connection the last time we were all together." _

_"You don't know where Elijah is. Even if you did, you wouldn't bring him back for me. He wouldn't trust you, he's too smart for that. Not to mention that Kol and Bekah would kill you the second they saw you." _

_"They won't be able to if the curse is lifted before they get awoken."_

_"Elijah was smart, and he taught me a lot, Klaus. The only doppelganger who might recognize me is the one who killed herself to get away from you, if there is a human doppelganger now, I'll be no help because she'll have no idea who I am. And even if the doppelganger were to exist and let you kill her, you wouldn't bring me your brothers and Rebekah, because you would run away before you would have to keep your promise." _

_"Please just trust me, Angel." _

_"Who do you plan on using as the vampire in the ritual, Klaus?"_

_"Oh, you haven't caught onto that? I plan on finding the vampire doppelganger for that purpose, and if we fail at finding her, you'll do." _

Angel lost her balance and slid off of Jeremy's bed, catching herself only before she hit the floor.

"Oh, my God, Angel are you okay?" Jeremy asked, standing up from his bed.

"I'm fine," Angel nodded. "Just…I just forgot what was happening for a second."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I get flashbacks sometimes; memories of things that happened a long time ago. I don't know why. I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I know Klaus, Jer," Angel whispered. "I don't know where he is, but if Elijah wanted to talk to me, it's because he thinks I do."


End file.
